Tanveer arrived in Johannesburg late last week and is set for his first outing for the Lions when they play the Chevrolet Knights in Potchefstroom on Wednesday.

Dave Nosworthy’s team are currently on top of the log and have the opportunity to extend their one-point lead over the Titans, who have played an extra game, and the Knights, who are two points behind, also after six matches.

The left-arm paceman and powerful lower-order hitter has been playing in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) and was one of the star performers in that competition, taking 13 wickets in 10 matches at an average of 15.53 and an economy rate of just 5.94.

“I was in very good form in Bangladesh and hopefully tomorrow will be my first chance to play together with the Lions. The Lions don’t have many big names, but they have very good talent and have been performing very well.

“The Lions are on the top of the log, which means the local players have done very well, they’ve been winning on their own. That means there is less pressure on me.

“In the BPL, my team wasn’t winning, which always makes it difficult for the professional, he is under more pressure. But here at the Lions, the local guys have performed very well,” Tanveer said at the Wanderers on Tuesday.

The 27-year-old Tanveer first played for Pakistan in 2007, making his debut in South Africa in the T20 World Cup, and he was one of the stars of the tournament, helping his team into the final, where, unfortunately for them, they lost to India by five runs in a thriller.

“The cricket is very good in South Africa, most international players love to play here, and the facilities are very good too. One of the things I love about South Africa is that I made my debut here in the T20 World Cup. I have good and bad memories of the Wanderers, I played well here, but we lost the final – that’s the bottom line! But there is good bounce and swing here,” Tanveer said.

KNEE PROBLEMS

Knee problems, leading to surgery in 2010, perhaps explains why Tanveer is in Africa rather than preparing for the Asia Cup in Dhaka with the rest of the Pakistan squad. The bowler himself blames his unorthodox action, which leads to him bowling off the wrong foot, a la Mike Procter, for the injury.

“I was out for one-and-a-half years with a knee injury, it was because of my action, the whole load is on my left leg. All my weight is on one leg, with no support from the other one. But I’m finally back to full form, I’m getting my swing back.

“In my country, we’re not allowed to ask why we aren’t selected, but I believe it was at the last moment and I’m not disappointed – this will be a good opportunity to show I’m good enough to play international cricket again,” Tanveer said.

So a motivated fast bowler, whose great weapons are swing and yorkers, and a team high on confidence should make for a potent combination.

And Tanveer has a history of success in T20 cricket, playing a key role in the Rajasthan Royals’ triumph in the inaugural season of the IPL.

He was the leading wicket-taker in the competition and also hit the winning runs in a last-ball triumph in the final.

“It’s all about confidence. When a team is going well, nobody can stop you. In the IPL, we were one of the lowly teams and we did not have any really big names. But once we started winning, we beat all the teams with the big names.

“It’s all about the team combination, when you’re playing well as a team, it doesn’t matter who is coming up against you,” Tanveer said.

The Lions and Tanveer would seem to be a good fit for each other, and there is also the delicious prospect of two left-arm quicks opening the bowling with Australian Dirk Nannes already into the swing of things.

http://www.supersport.com/cricket/domestic-t20/news/120306/Tanveer_Lions_a_good_combination

Pakistan pace bowler Sohail Tanveer has joined the bizhub Highveld Lions squad and, with Dirk Nannes rapidly regaining full fitness as well, Dave Nosworthy’s team can now boast two of the leading bowlers in worldwide T20 cricket.

The Lions were the early frontrunners in the MiWay T20 Challenge, winning their first three matches, before coming unstuck last weekend against the Chevrolet Knights in Bloemfontein. They are currently five points behind the log-leading central franchise, but have two games in hand.

The Knights have the weekend off, while the Lions play the Nashua Titans at SuperSport Park on Friday night and the Sunfoil Dolphins in Durban on Sunday, so Nosworthy and his team are chasing top place on the log again.

“This coming weekend is a big one for the Lions as we come up against a strong Titans team on Friday night, followed by an equally well-performing Dolphins team on Sunday. Having played four matches and managing to get across the line on three occasions has been a good start for us, however, it is never about the way one starts but about how one finishes. Team-wise, the group is very excited for this weekend as we look forward to performing at our best,” head coach Nosworthy said.

http://www.supersport.com/cricket/domestic-t20/news/120302/Tanvir_Nannes_ready_to_join_action

And Nosworthy could let loose his two big overseas guns to further boost the attacking edge of the Lions attack.

Tanveer, who has been playing in the Bangladesh T20 league, flew into Johannesburg on Thursday evening and will probably be kept in cotton wool until the Lions arrive in Durban. The 27-year-old left-armer has taken 75 wickets in his 73 T20 games and has an economy rate of 7.14, so he is a fine bowler in this format, as well as a useful batsman in the lower-order. The fact that he has also played for the Rajasthan Royals and South Australia shows that he is in demand.

Nannes, meanwhile, has been in the country for 10 days, and the chances are greater that Nosworthy will be welcoming the Australian into the starting line-up against the Titans on Friday night.

“We didn’t want to risk Dirk earlier because he had a bit of a side strain,” Nosworthy explained to SuperSport.com.

Also a left-armer, Nannes has taken 28 wickets in 17 T20 internationals, and overall has taken 169 wickets in 135 matches at an economy rate of 7.14 in the shortest format of the game, having played for eight different franchises.

The one definite change to the team will come at the top of the order, where captain Alviro Petersen has left to join the national team in New Zealand. Thami Tsolekile will take over the captaincy, while the experienced Gulam Bodi is the most obvious candidate to open the batting instead of Petersen, although the Lions may yet spring a surprise there, the coach hinted.

“Gulam is an option, but so are Temba Bavuma and Neil McKenzie. We don’t want to be one-minded in our plans, we want to play differently as much as possible. The good thing is we can change the batting order and the bowling options around as well,” Nosworthy said.

Lions squad – Thami Tsolekile, Temba Bavuma, Shane Burger, Gulam Bodi, Quinton De Kock, Eddie Leie, Neil McKenzie, Chris Morris, Dirk Nannes, Ethan O’Reilly, Aaron Phangiso, Dwaine Pretorius, Jean Symes, Sohail Tanveer, Jonathan Vandiar.